Nursing (Mental Health) BSc (Hons) - Pre-registration

Learn how to safely and effectively deliver quality nursing care with one of the UK’s leading providers of health and social care education. After successfully completing this degree course, you’ll be a registered nurse, with all the skills and knowledge you need to make a real difference to people’s lives. The curriculum addresses national benchmarks and is split between 50% theoretical study - including time spent in small groups with other students who’ve chosen the same field of nursing as you - and 50% practical clinical experience, working with a local NHS Trust on a variety of placements to build your confidence and develop the hands-on nursing skills you need. Opportunities for an overseas clinical experience is available, subject to conditions.

The School of Nursing is committed to the values and principles of the NHS Constitution and these are integral to our programmes. The approaches to delivery and the content of our programmes aim to foster a culture which embraces the NHS Values of:

Working together for patients

Respect and dignity

Commitment to quality of care

Compassion

Improving lives

Everyone counts.

UCLan is one of the foremost providers of health and welfare education in the UK and is committed to excellence in learning, teaching and research. But don't take our word for it…we have been awarded the highest independent quality assessment by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education for the design, content and management of our curricula, student achievement and standards of teaching.

Our student selection process is underpinned by the National Values Based Recruitment strategy .The selection process has to provide evidence that the future students would aspire to a high standard of excellence in professionalism which is consistent with the NHS values i.e : working together for patients, respect and dignity, commitment to quality of care, compassion, improving lives and everyone counts.

Our students enjoy an outstanding track record of post-University employment and our commitment to excellence in teaching and research will ensure your nursing career gets off on the best possible start.

One in four people will experience mental health issues during their lives. Depression, anxiety and stress are common experiences. For the majority, mental health issues are temporary phenomena, while some people will experience more serious and long-term mental illness. As a mental health nurse you'll help people to work towards recovery with the aim of living fulfilling lives in society. Mental health nursing is at the forefront of the move into the community as the setting for care and treatment. Nurses work in people's homes, specialist clinics, GP practices and prisons, as well as hospital wards and care homes. Working in multi-disciplinary teams with psychiatrists, social workers, psychologists and occupational therapists you will support and care for children, adolescents, working age and older adults. Nurses working in mental health have some of the highest levels of job satisfaction.

You'll need to be open-minded and motivated to help patients understand themselves and their condition. Whether it's assisting a patient to overcome major surgery or helping someone with agoraphobia leave their house, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you've made a real difference to peoples' lives.

Nursing is open to all those who want to care for others. Your age, experience and qualifications will have their part to play in deciding how you wish to begin your nursing career. You'll soon realise you are entering a profession in which only you set the limits to your potential.

For clinical placement experiences, you will be allocated to one of several NHS Trusts within the Central Lancashire region as your base and from there, gain experience in a range of placement areas. Opportunity for an overseas clinical placement experience is available, subject to conditions.

The development of clinical nursing skills takes place alongside skills such as communication, problem solving and reflection. These are key elements of the nursing programme which will aid the development of a critical, analytical and reflective practitioner. Development of these skills will enable you to progress onto career pathways within the healthcare sector, or to continue to post-graduate level study.

The student experience upon the mental health nursing course will be managed and supported by academic staff from a range of speciality nursing backgrounds and with a vast wealth of clinical experience.

We are committed to delivering academic learning of the highest quality, helping you to stretch your mind and fulfil your university and career pathway ambitions. Specialities such as high dependency; intensive care; cardiothoracic and cardiology nursing; emergency nursing; care of the elderly; renal nursing; theatre nursing and many more are all represented amongst our staff specialisms. Additionally, many of our academic staff are not only registered nurse teachers, but they also continue to also hold dual professional nursing registration and often work within the clinical setting when not teaching. This enables our staff to maintain clinical competence and makes them ideally placed to support you on your learning journey.

Exciting Opportunities

You will undertake practical work experience placements, as well as spend time developing practical skills in our clinical skills labs using clinical patient simulators (manikins) and simulation model trainers. Clinical setting work placements account for 50% of the clinical practice time for the mental health nursing course. These are interspersed throughout the three years of the programme.

The School of Nursing is amongst one of the first educational providers within the North West region who ensure that your first year (second year in the Foundation Entry) is adequately supported within their clinical experiences by allocating associate lecturing staff to first year placement areas. These members of staff will visit you within the student’s placement areas to ensure that the placement is progressing and the learning environment is providing you with appropriate learning opportunities that will enable you to achieve your learning outcomes.

Service users, carers and the wider community are also involved in the development, delivery and running of the nursing programme. Service users and carers share their experiences with students at the University and are involved in providing students with feedback in clinical practice, as well as being involved in recruitment and assessment activities.

You will have the opportunity to have an international experience by taking advantage of the University's extensive links in Europe and overseas. A number of students have also taken advantage of the Erasmus scheme, as well as other voluntary international experiences in America, Oman, Tanzania and Finland.

Our BSc Nursing graduates go on to work in a variety of different healthcare disciplines and settings. Career opportunities are available in a range of nursing specialities within the National Health Service in both hospital and community settings; as well as other healthcare opportunities within the independent and third sector or social services. Post course surveys consistently find that our nursing students are employed and working within their chosen career six months following completion of the course.

Not got the grades?

If you do not meet the formal entry requirements specified, you can apply to study our Foundation Entry Health and Social Care course. Successful completion of this foundation programme will allow you to apply (subject to successful interview) for a Pre-registration Nursing or Midwifery course.

Fees 2018/19

Scholarships and Bursaries

Entry Requirements

Our typical offer is 112 UCAS Points. We operate a flexible admissions policy and treat everyone as an individual. This means that we will take into consideration your educational achievements and predicted grades (where applicable) together with your application as a whole, including work experience and personal statement.

Fantastic Industry Links

The School of Nursing is one of the largest providers of healthcare education in the North West region and as a result we have developed close links with healthcare providers across the whole of the central Lancashire area including NHS trusts across Preston & Fylde Coast; Fleetwood & Blackpool; Blackburn; Burnley; Chorley; Southport & Ormskirk and many more. We can also place students with private healthcare providers; independent and voluntary sector organisations and these learning environments provide our students with a unique insight into how healthcare is managed in all settings, not just within the NHS.

All clinical placement providers are audited according to the Nursing & Midwifery Council professional regulatory requirements for learning & teaching in clinical practice and each area has a dedicated member of academic staff attached to the placement, so that students may access support and advice. Academic staff work in close contact with the NHS trust Practice Education Facilitators and the development of these close links with practice partners enable our students to feel confident that their practice experiences are supported throughout their course.

As part of your clinical experiences you can expect to work full-time alongside a clinical mentor who will support your learning journey throughout each placement area. As a result there is no part-time route for the BSc Nursing as all students are expected to work closely with their mentors which may entail a range of different shift patterns throughout the year.

Engaging Learning Environment

During the last 10 years the University has invested over £60million in new buildings and state-of-the-art facilities. The School of Nursing is based in purpose-built accommodation on the University's main campus site in Preston with hi-tech lecture theatres, clinical skills laboratories and computer suites together with the University's extensive library facilities and IT resources. You will be taught utilising the most up-to-date technologically advanced systems and clinical simulation facilities. UCLan's virtual learning environment (Blackboard) will enable you to interact with lecturers and one another via digital technology and is one of the largest systems in Europe. The virtual learning environment has a capacity for 50,000 users. These facilities are complemented by UCLan libraries at NHS Trusts in Blackpool, Burnley, Blackburn, Chorley, Ormskirk, and Wigan.

In addition we can arrange for placements at other sites within the NHS, independent, social services and voluntary sectors. During your nursing course you could also have the chance to choose a placement abroad in Europe, America, the Middle East and Asia.

The learning, teaching and assessment throughout the course is modular, with a mix of academic study and practical placements with local healthcare providers.

Both theory and practice elements of the course will be assessed throughout the duration of the three years of the programme using written essays, reports, posters, presentations, examinations and observation of practice. The course encourages students to become independent learners who are self-motivated and fosters the adoption of a self-directed approach to the management of your nursing studies.

Check out what we've been up to ...

Nursing students fundraise for national nurses
Staff and students from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) have once again shown their charitable side by raising money for the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) Benevolent Fund.

DBS Checks

Throughout this course you will be working with vulnerable groups of individuals including children. In order to ensure that the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing offers places on their programmes to the most suitable candidates you will all be required to obtain a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service clearance (formerly termed CRB). The Faculty of Health and Wellbeing will be able to guide you through this process once you have been successfully offered a conditional place at the University. It is important to note that any unsatisfactory Enhanced DBS clearance may result in the offer of your place being withdrawn even if you have already started your course.

Further Information for students

You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at The University of Central Lancashire on our Student Contract page.

Entry Requirements

For changes to 2017 UCAS tariff entry requirements please see our Essential and Important Course Information. UCLan requires all undergraduate applicants to have a minimum attainment of five GCSEs at grade C and above, or equivalent, (including Maths and English). In 2017 and beyond we will view the new Grade 4 as being equivalent to a C grade and will therefore require students to achieve GCSE Grade 4 or above. However, if the subject is relevant to our degree programme and requires a higher GCSE grade (e.g. GCSE B grade), and/or includes a Professional body that governs the entry requirements, Grade 5 or above may be required.